30 Apr 2016

In January, Liverpool defender Jose Enrique reportedly held talks with Newcastle United, but ultimately rejected a transfer to stay and 'fight' for his place at Anfield. Since then, Enrique has been totally ignored by Klopp, and he's now made clear his frustration with being marginalised by the manager.

At the time of Newcastle's interest, Reds legend Jan Molby slammed Enrique for taking such a 'ridiculous' stance:

"I find it amazing [Enrique] wants to stay. He barely played last season and now he’s training away from the first-team squad. Why not just move on?"

A legitimate question, perhaps, but speaking to the Liverpool Echo this week, Enrique provided the answer yet again, and reiterated:

“I’m focused on playing [for Liverpool]. I’ll continue training as usual and I’m eager to play.”

Enrique also added:

"Several clubs have contacted my agent regarding next season, but If I cannot play here, I’ll do it somewhere else"

Predictably, Enrique is getting grief from Liverpool fans over his alleged greed (he's reportedly on £75k-a-week), but in all fairness:

* Enrique has a contract, so he's perfectly within his rights to see it out. Granted, he has a horrible injury history, but that's part and parcel of football (though if it were down to me, perpetual sicknotes would be docked part of their salary)

* No one forced Liverpool to sign Enrique, and pay him such a massive salary; Why should he leave and take (in all probability) a massive pay cut just because the Reds want him out?

* In September, Enrique stated: "The squad has only one pure left-back [Alberto Moreno] and I know that if I stay I’ll play. I want to prove that some are wrong.” . Why is it so hard to believe that he wants to fight for his place? If the manager ignores him, that's not Enrique's fault, and there's no evidence to suggest that the Spaniard is not working hard enough in training.

Obviously, I'd prefer to see Enrique leave (and he will at the end of the season), but he's perfectly within his rights to stick it out to the end of his contract. By rejecting Newcastle and staying at Anfield, Enrique merely exercised his contractual rights, just as you or I would do in our jobs with a similarly attractive salary on offer.

On a related note: If Liverpool are hemorrhaging money on salaries, then it's down to the club, not the player, and it should be resolved by instituting a more prudent approach to transfers and contracts.